Surviving High School - Lucas
by hsw2710
Summary: A playthrough of the Original Story. Have tried incorporating some of the new characters into it.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So, I decided to go camping last year and it rained pretty much the entire time, leaving me trapped inside my canvas tent with nothing to do.**

**Naturally bored, I decided to write out my SHS original story from beginning to end. **

**Although most of you will have played it through and known the endings and decisions anyway, I tried to make it a bit more interesting and realistic, and any feedback and reviews will be appreciated :) **

**SURVIVING HIGHSCHOOL**

**Week 1**

Pulling up to Centerscore High School in my beat up hatchback and stalling into one of the last car parks, my car backfires like a shot. It was hardly what you would call a good first impression. They had never been my strong suit.

"Great first day," I mumble, ducking my head a little. I look around as inconspicuously as possible to see if anybody had witnessed the embarrassing parking job. As much as I would like to say I didn't care about being liked, it was all a lie.

No high school kid didn't care.

Sure, some may hide their emotions better then others, but at the end of the day, everyone cared. I hated the first day of new school, especially now, one term in, when everyone had already settled into their new groups, and had established themselves into sports teams, physics Clubs and academic achievement teams (which, considering the grades I had pulled at my last school, I wouldn't be welcome in anyway), yacht club, whatever floats their boat so to speak. Generally, no matter who they were, they weren't too happy with newcomers. It upset the natural order of things.

My dad had told me when we'd moved here that Centrescore had one of the best football teams in the state, The Fighting Lizards, and that I should try out if I got the chance. I hadn't decided whether to follow his advice on that yet.

It turned out to be a pretty clear day out despite the overcast sky that morning, and I'd dressed in a grey singlet and jeans, figuring they were pretty safe reliable choices. As I made my way to the school, my heart beat like an unholy drum, reminding myself again and again just how damn nervous I was. God, why the hell did I need to...

"Hey! I've never seen you here before. You must be new!" The bright voice broke me from my dark thoughts, and I turn to the stranger who spoke. My already drumming heart made a giant leap into my throat, literally choking me for a second. This girl was stunning; it was the only way to describe her. Blonde hair pulled back into a comfortably loose ponytail, she had shining blue eyes, and her lips weren't bad to look at either, and holy hell, her body... when I don't reply, she continues on bouncily. "I have to say, I love your look!"

That took me a little by surprise. She looked like the type of girl that would go after pretty guys. Pretty, I was not. In fact, I had finally talked mom and dad into letting me get my eyebrow pierced, though mom still hated it. She said it made me look like a criminal. But it kind of gave me a sort of, well, edginess, which I longed for but otherwise lacked. I had always hated being normal, getting lost in the shadows. "Thanks," I manage to reply finally, clearing my throat. "I just transferred here." She didn't need to know from where. No one did.

"I'm Beth. What's your name?"

"Lucas, Luke." I liked her name, simple and beautiful. It suited her to a tee. Maybe this school wouldn't be so bad after all. Any place where a hot blonde in the parking lot greets you worked for me.

"Well, Luke, let me show you around." She begins walking without a reply, and I have to jog a little until we're walking side by side. We wander through the halls; it's a pretty standard looking school, with rows of blue lockers and linoleum floors. Square florescent lights lit up the hallway. At least, that's about as much as I see between staring at the girl at my side. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a pretty girl with a gorgeous smile.

"So, what are you into?" She asks me, those blue eyes shooting straight through my own.

"Working out," I reply honestly. I had always been a bit of a fitness nut, loved the adrenaline rush I got after a good work out.

"I thought so! You must work out a lot…" Beth eyes me up and down with a coy smile. "It really shows."

"Heh, thanks." I grin. Beth was pretty cute, well, _really_ cute… And it seemed like she was kind of into me, I wasn't completely soft in the head when it came to the opposite sex. _Time to turn on the charm_, I thought to myself. No way was I going to let an opportunity this easy pass me by. I bet I could make her laugh with some cheesy pick-up lines! Lets just hope I remember how they go. "Hey, are you a parking ticket?" She rose an eyebrow at my question, and I rushed on, smiling. "Cause you've got fine written all over you."

To my utter relief, Beth laughs. "Hee hee! That's pretty funny."

Happy with the result, I scramble to think of another one. "Wow, is something on fire? Or are you just smoking hot?"

"You're hilarious! Do you have any more lines like that?"

"I mean, are you some kind of thief? Cause someone just stole my heart!"

Beth grins at me. "Haha.. Real funny…"

"Man, this place is great. I've only been here five minutes, and I'm already talking to the most beautiful girl in the school!"

I can tell she enjoyed the compliment. "Aww… You're funny _and_ sweet…" She flicks her hair from her shoulder, and I let myself wonder for a small moment what it would feel like to run my hand through her hair. "Well, Luke, it's almost time for class, but maybe we can talk some other time…"

I didn't catch the rest of her sentence, because somebody strong shoved me hard on the side. I stumbled a few steps, regaining my footing quick enough. I turn to see my attacker, a tall burly looking guy with short brown hair and a pretty impressive scowl on his face. Uh oh, I think immediately.

"Hey punk! What do you think you're doing?!"

I hold up his hands. "Look, man, I don't want any trouble… I'm just talking to this pretty girl here…"

The guy cracks his knuckles menacingly. "Yeah? Well, that pretty girl is _my_ girlfriend!"

_Well, crap._ I turn to Beth, who's red faced. I sigh, it's just my luck, really. Trust me to get targeted by a chick that's already taken, probably so she can watch her huge ass boyfriend kick the crap out of me in front of the whole school. Small town, cheap thrills. Way to welcome the new kid. Beth stepped forward to my surprise. "Adam! Leave Luke alone! I thought we talked about this!" She said. I'm starting to sense a whole lot of baggage between these two.

The dude, Adam, jolted his head to face her. "Stay out of this, Beth!" He turned back towards me "As for you, meat, I hope you're ready to get pounded. What have you got to say for yourself?"

I had been it fights before, and held my own well enough. This guy looked pissed, but I had never been a wimp and wasn't about to start now. I take a step toward him. "You don't know who you're messing with," I warn in a low voice. I was going for imposing.

"Oh yeah?" Adam pulls back a fist and sucker punches me right in the gut. And it was damn hard.

"Oof," I double over in pain. Man, that guy had an arm on him! I straighten up, and take a stumbling swing at Adam, which he dodges with ease.

"Is that the best you've got?!" he taunts. He punches me again, and I fall back against the lockers and slump to the ground. Okay, so maybe I had bit off more then I can chew with this one. Getting my ass kicked in front of the whole school wouldn't exactly do wonders for my reputation.

Adam steps toward me, no doubt to pummel what little self-respect I have left, but a couple of guys came in between him and me. A heavyset guy wearing a football shirt and backwards baseball cap put up a hand. "Whoa, I think he's had enough, Adam!" The guys push Adam away, talking to him in quiet words until I see the anger disappear from my attackers face.

He moves past them, pointing at me with a forefinger. "Look, you better stay away from my girl, loser!"

I give him a sarcastic salute, clutching my chest. I got his message, loud and freakin' clear. Adam and the guys leave, and Beth gives me an awkward look before rushing after him. Once they're gone, the crowd that had been watching my ass kicking slowly disperses, heading to their different classes. I get to my feet, exhaling a painful breath. I'd have a few bruises, no doubt. _Mom and Dad would be so proud_, I think sarcastically. As I start collecting my stuff that had been thrown from my backpack, a Goth girl approaches. She's about the same height as Beth but that's where the similarities end. This girl had straight black hair and pale skin, which contrasts strong to her massively huge green eyes.

She looks me up and down. "Great… Another macho jerk joins the school. Now I can't even walk to class without seeing a fight."

I frown at her. "Huh? Wait a minute… Adam started it!"

"Sure, like you weren't looking for a fight. I heard what you said to him."

The guy who had broke up our fight appears at her side. "Hey, give it a rest, Raven. No one cares what you think." The Goth girl glares at the guy angrily, before moving away. I'm just making friends all over the place, I think. I go to thank the guy, but he's gone. Instead, another student, a lanky guy with longish jet black hair and blue eyes makes his way over. I'm mentally preparing myself for another bout of verbal abuse, so I'm surprised when he says, "That fight looked brutal… You okay?"

He reaches down and picks up one of my books, handing it to me. "Thanks," I say. "I'm Lucas. I'm new here."

"I'm Howard. I'm new here too, but even I knew better than to fight a guy like Adam. From what I've heard, he's the star quarterback!"

I shrug, throwing my bag around my shoulder. "I've got a pretty good arm… Maybe I should try out and see if I can take his spot." How was that for busted pride!

Howard nods. "Maybe… But that guy is the best in the state!" The bell rings shrilly, echoing through the halls, and Howard turns back to me. "We should get to class. Have you picked out your classes yet?"

"Uh… no." I_ was_ in the middle of getting my ass handed to me, I want to add.

"Well, you'd better get to the counselor's office and talk to Ms. Lee," he points to a door down the hallway. "Good luck in there. You'll need it!" He heads away with a wave, leaving me wondering what the hell he meant.

I move down to the office, a few students whispering as I passed. Whispering and talking. Gotta love it!

…**..**

Ms. Lee's office has your general counselor's vibe to it. A big shag carpet over the floor, a bookshelf full of self-help books like _Your Future Is Yours_, and _No One Is Worthless_. There's also one called _Wait Until He's Asleep, and Cut It Off_. I would gather that one was there by mistake. I would hope so anyway…

Ms. Lee walks into the office, a coffee mug in her hand. She's a dark woman with hair pulled back so tight I have to imagine it would be painful. She's got wide set eyes, which look me over. "Well, hello, hello…" she says, taking a seat. "You must be the new student I saw getting beaten to a pulp in the hallway!"

I shift in my seat, frowning at her. "You saw me getting beaten up and didn't do anything to help?"

Ms. Lee gives me a tired shrug. "Of course! As a counselor, I know I can't solve all your problems for you! See, if you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. But if you _teach_ a man to fish, he'll eat for a…" she motions for me to finish the proverb, but I just sit there.

There's an awkward silence, before I speak. "You're going to teach me to fish?" I ask finally, completely mystified.

"No! I mean…" Ms. Lee rolls her eyes at me. "Never mind! Anyway… Let me explain how this works. This semester you'll have to take English and Math. You'll also get one elective, either history or biology."

History or Biology. I hate them both, and suck equally at both. "I'll choose History," I mumble, the lesser of two evils.

Ms. Lee writes my choices down, filling out a class schedule and handing it over to me. "History, huh?" I nod. "Did you know I'm actually related to Genghis Khan?"

"Wow!" I am so keen to leave this office right now!

She nods, continuing, "Yup, before I became a counselor, I was _totally_ considering a career in pillaging! In fact, I sometimes _still_ think about bulldozing my ex-boyfriends house."

"Uh…" I shove my schedule into my back, getting my so quick my chair almost topples.

"Ooop," she says, coming back to reality somewhat. "Sorry for over sharing! Now… You go out and do great in your classes! Good luck!

"Heh… Sure," I say, still ill at ease. "Thanks." Once I was safely out of her office, I give a sigh of relief. Okay, that lady is officially nuts! I wander down the halls, looking over a map of the school to get my bearings when I hear my name being said from around the corner. I know eaves-dropping is a bit of a nerdy thing to do, but I was kind of eager to see what rep I had. I move cautiously closer, looking around the corner.

A girl in a cheerleading outfit with blonde hair is talking to the guy in the baseball cap, who's talking. "Did you hear about that new kid, Luke? Before he got pounded, he totally stood up to Adam! That fool was hardcore!" I smile.

The cheerleading girl shakes her head. I can see a nametag on the front of her shirt. 'Hello, my name is' and Taylor was written in neat curvy handwriting. "A hardcore idiot is more like it! Who walks into a new school and starts a fight with the quarterback?"

The baseball cap guy shrugs. "Hey, it's like my dad once told me… 'Son, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity." The two walk off down the hall together.

Well, I think. At least I'm making a name for myself.

…**..**

I find my English classroom pretty easily, but by the time I reach it there is only one seat left next to a nerdy looking guy with floppy brown hair and red glasses. He's wearing a mustard colored sweater and maroon chord pants and he's scribbling on his notepad. It looks like a sketch of a dragon and one of those worrier princesses with huge boobs and barely no clothes on. It's not bad.

I sit down at the desk, and he looks up with a toothy grin. "Salutations! I am Spud."

I stop myself from laughing at his name. It suits him to a tee. "Uh… I'm Luke." We shake hands.

"I hope you're as excited about today's quiz as I am!" he says to me.

Double crap! "Q…quiz? But it's out first day!"

"Exactly! Now they can test us on our summer studies."

Of course. Because my day wasn't crap enough as it was, throw in a quiz so my GPA fails and I piss off my dad.

Spud looks at me over the top of his reading glasses. "You _do _know how grading at this school works, right? Because it's a little different from most places…"

I nod my head. "I know what's up," I say casually.

Spud's reaction honestly freaks me out a little. His eyes blaze over in anger. "You're a real know-it-all, aren't you?" I am utterly confused. People at Centrescore High school needed to attend major therapy classes. "Well, don't think you can dethrone me as the school's top student just like that! You want a war? I'll give you a way, with dragon-like agility!"

"Uh… what?" It's all I can think to say.

He seems to realize he's overreacted just slightly, and cools off. "Er… sorry. Uh, I sometimes get anxious when it comes to competing over grades."

I smile at him; he's a pretty funny character. I can't imagine he has too many friends, or any at all. "No sweat, man… Good luck out there, okay?" I think he gets I don't just mean the test, and gives me a wide smile.

"Huzzah!" he exclaims, making me laugh.

The teacher approaches, I look past her to the blackboard where she had written her name in big white chalk strokes. Ms. Prez. She's a cheery looking woman, quite a deal prettier then my last English teacher, with soft blonde hair and small brown eyes. One of those teachers that have to fend off unwanted crushes from her young male students, no doubt. She smiles, making me feel at ease. "Hi, Luke! Welcome to English. Time for your first quiz."

Yippee, I think. Here goes nothing.

"Luke, please answer these questions. What pen name did Emily Bronte write under?"

Hah, I know this one! Thank goodness Mom was a literary nut. "Ellis Bell," I reply confidently.

She smiles. "Correct!" She marks the answer on her notepad. "What is Jane Eyre's occupation?"

Another Bronte sisters question. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "A Governess."

Ms. Prez beams. "Correct! What is Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' classified as?"

Oh crap. Shakespeare, Shakespeare. The closest thing to Shakespeare I came to was a movie my ex girlfriend had been obsessed with, '10 Things I Hate About You'. I think I recall her saying something like the movie roughly was based off one of Shakespeare's plays, 'The Taming of the Shrew' and that it was a comedy. That was in between us making out, so my memory is a little fuzzy. Better then nothing. "A comedy," I say.

"Correct!"

I almost laugh out loud.

"Let's see then, you got 3 out of 3 correct. Remember that you still have to do your homework to get the highest possible GPA." Yeah, I think. That was never going to happen. The fact that I made it through the quiz was an achievement. Getting the answers all right was fluke. At least I was holding a 3.0. That would make dad happy.

…**..**

After class, I head to the cafeteria. Ah, where to sit, another fun milestone for new students. I get a tray and load it up with food, walking around and scanning for an empty seat at a table where someone wouldn't tell me to piss off straight away. Thankfully, I spot Howard and he waves me over. "Yo! Luke! Over here!"

I walk towards him and slide into one of the plastic seats. As I do, he hands a crumpled sheet of paper to me. I take it and spin it around to read.

"Check it out! Football tryouts start this Friday!"

I crack open my soda, taking a gulp. "I hope I can show up Adam." I reply simply. That was pretty much all I was after at this point.

"I hope I can impress some cheerleaders!" Howard grins widely, and I crack up. "Of course, you already have a head start! What's going on with you and Beth?" Well, it seemed gossip spread like wildfire in this school. I wonder what was actually being said about us two. Howard asks, "Are you gonna make a move on her?"

I shake my head. Although Adam was an asshole who had given me a black eye, if he was telling the truth, and Beth _was_ his girlfriend, then I couldn't really be angry with him. Hell, if she were mine, I probably would have done the same thing. "Take another man's girl? No way!"

"Hey, I don't think you need to worry about that."

I frown, "What do you mean?"

Howard gives a half-shrug. "I guess Beth went out a few times with Adam, and now he thinks she's his girlfriend. But the two of them aren't really official. At least that's how Beth feels, according to what I've heard."

"Huh," I think back to the parking lot this morning. There was no denying that Beth was an incredibly good-looking girl, and if what Howard was saying was right, she hadn't done anything wrong. "Maybe I've got a shot after all…" I look at Howard, and he's got an almost scared expression on his face. He's looking over my shoulder. "What's wrong?" I ask him, frowning and turning in my seat. Just my luck, Adam and his friends are standing there, and from the look on Adam's face, he's no doubt heard of my _plans_.

"You better watch that mouth of yours, or I'll have to pound your face in."

After my earlier beating, I know better then to make a smart comment back this time. Adam spots the flyer on our table and sneers at me. "You losers are gonna try out for the team, huh? That ought to be good for a laugh."

Alright, I think. There was no way I was going to let that one slide. "Yeah, I think I'm going to try out… for quarterback!" I say, getting to my feet. He wanted another beat down, fine. He wasn't going to sucker punch his way through this time.

"In your dreams, meat. You're not even good enough to be my backup, that's Bryce's job." A guy steps up as his names said. He's your average looking pretty boy. "Bryce was my backup all last year, and I taught him everything I know. On any other team, he'd be a started for sure. Looks like there's no room on our roster for you."

I wave him off. "We'll see this Friday."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it. See you on the field, meat!" Adam and his friends wander off, and I sit back down.

"Okay, so maybe that Bryce kid looked kind of tough," I admit to Howard once they're out of earshot.

"Dude, we need to work on our football skills! I saw some guys getting ready to scrimmage. If we hurry, I bet we can play before lunch is over!"

I nod my head, downing my sandwich in record time.

…**..**

Baseball cap guy, who Howard tells me is called Chuck greets us as we jog out onto the field in what I had quickly discovered was a normal Centerscore fashion. "Well, well, well. You two wannabes looking to play with the big boys? I hope you can keep up!" Unlike Adam's taunts, Chuck's were said in good-humor, normal guy bashing.

"Man, it's been awhile," I say, thinking back to my days as quarterback at my last high school. "I hope I haven't forgotten everything."

Chuck tosses the football high in the air, catching it. "We can go over the rules, if you want."

I shake my head. "I already know."

"Heh, okay, rookie," Chuck throws me the football hard, and I catch it with tight hands. "Let's see what you've got."

The guys all run out onto the field, getting into their respective positions. Howard moves to the spot as wide receiver, giving me thumbs up. Let's do this, I think with a grin. I manage to score within the first 2 minutes of the game with three long throws to Howard. I'm pretty sure I get 25 yards in one.

I can tell the guys, particularly Chuck, are impressed. I play defense just as strong, and the opponent team barely make 20 yards before I force a turnover. I was good at football, always had been. The game was turning into a thrashing from my end, with me and Howard almost an unstoppable pair. I get a few good throws to my other receiver, a young guy named Jacob. He seemed a little like a class clown, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked a bit pretty for football, but I quickly found out the guy could _move_.

Chuck was a pretty awesome player on defense. I was running to ball during the third down, thought I had a clear shot at the try line before he came out of nowhere and shoulder checked me. He was like a bulldozer. Dad wasn't kidding when he said this was one of the best teams in the state. There was some serious talent in this team.

I finish the game with a cool 21-11 win, and Howard and me head off the field puffing with pride. He clamps a hand on my shoulder. "Right on, man! If you throw like that during tryouts, you'll make the team for sure!"

"Thanks, buddy. You made some good catches out there." I grab a towel from the bleachers, wiping my face clean of dirt and sweat. Chuck walks up to me.

"Hey, dude. You had a couple of good throws there. But it you really want to make a name for yourself, you're going to have to build some muscle! If you get strong enough, you might just be able to learn some special moves."

"Cool, I'll keep that in mind."

"Okay, dudes. I'll see you around." Chuck and the other guys head away. Chuck seemed like a cool guy, I decide.

"That's the bell. Time to get to class!" Howard starts packing up his gear, and together we head back into school.

…**..**

The rest of the school day passes by quickly, and I'm still kind of buzzing over the football scrimmage I had at lunch. All in all, my first day didn't turn out too badly. Sure, it started out unpromising, what with me getting my ass handed to me in front of the school, but as I left the school and headed to my car, I was leaving with a new mate in Howard and the approval of one of the Flying Lizard's top football players. Things could have gone a lot worse than that, I reason. I dig my keys from my pocket, look up to my car and stop in my tracks.

Beth is waiting there, leaning against my bonnet, her eyes searching me out. I wonder what she's doing there, we hadn't spoken since our awkward situation at the beginning of the day where she'd left with Adam, in effect, leaving me sprawled on the floor.

"Hey there, Lucas." She seems a little cautious of how I will react.

"Oh! Uh… Hi, Beth." Okay, so I'm a little cautious too. You couldn't really blame me. I kept peeping over my shoulder to see if Adam was there, waiting to pummel me all day. And Adam clearly had a thing for this girl. I could see why. She was in a cheerleading uniform, clearly just back from practice. She was one of the hottest girls I'd ever seen, and definitely the most beautiful who seemed to take an interest in _me_.

She pushes off my bonnet, standing straighter and fixing her blue eyes to mine. "I want to apologize for what happened with Adam earlier. That was _totally_ not cool."

I shrug her off. "It's okay. I know it wasn't your fault. Adam's the real problem." Man I hated that guy. And he clearly hated me.

Beth seems relieved, and sighs. "He can be sweet, really, but he just doesn't know how to keep things in perspective. I mean, we went on two dates, and suddenly he's acting like he owns me!"

"Some guys are just too possessive, I guess."

"Seriously. But enough about Adam." Beth gives me a flirtatious smile, and I can't help but smile back. "I was wondering…Are you doing anything on Saturday? My friends are throwing this party down at the beach. You should come!"

"Beach party, eh? I'll think about it." Seriously think about it, I add to myself. This girl had a major hold over me. I gather she probably did with 90% of the guys at Centerscore.

"Great," she gives me a smile, a real one that lights up her eyes. "See you around!" She heads away, giving me a look over her shoulder as she does.

Either I was hallucinating, which could be a real possibility considering the head injury I'd received that morning, or the hottest girl in the school was into me. I grin, jumping into my car and starting it up with a painful 5 turns of the engine. I needed to get a new car; this one was likely to explode any minute.

…**..**

That night, at dinner, Mom and Dad do the usual family time discussion. After my sister left, Dad was really serious about family time and discussing our feelings. I guess he didn't want to the same thing to happen to me that happened to Alice. I miss my sister a lot.

"So, how was you first day at school?" Mom asks me. She's a pretty woman, or at least that's what my old guy friends used to tell me when we played MILF, I know, something I wasn't really proud of. She had brown, almost reddish hair, and big blue eyes that I'd inherited.

"Well…" I make it a point to leave out my beating. No mother or father wants to hear about that, right? They want to hear about academic achievements. Good thing I aced my test. "I got 3 out of 3 questions right on my first quiz."

My dad's face lights up immediately, and he gives me a playful punch over the table. "That's my boy! Tell you what, just to give you some extra motivation, let's make a little deal." I perk up a little, intrigued. "If you earn at least a 3.0 this semester, we'll sell your sorry excuse for a car and buy you a decent set of wheels! Trust me, ladies prefer driving with a guy when they're not worried he's got a family of rats living under the back seat!"

I think of Beth. "That… is a good point." I mumble. It would be pretty nice to get a car that doesn't sound like it's going to explode every time I go over fifty-five miles an hour. "Okay, Dad. You've got yourself a deal." I could do a 3.0, it was an achievable goal. Surely!

**AN: First day completed**

**This play through will be done to get the one of the best achievable outcomes, by the way **

**Anyways, let me know what you think**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day in class, its assigned seating. I head to my desk, and see that Goth girl that went off at me yesterday was seated next to me. I think her name's Raven, if I remember correctly. I sit down gingerly beside her. Frankly, I'm a little scared at what she's going to be like.

She seems surprised to find me there, but not happy about it. "Oh. Hi."

"Uh… Hey there," I give her a little wave, despite the fact we're inches from one another. It was incredibly awkward, and I, for one, wasn't going to spend my semester tiptoeing around somebody I'd have to see everyday. I take a breath. "Look… About yesterday, I'm not always like that, okay? I'm not some 'macho jerk.'"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me. You're normal. I'm a freak. We don't have to try and get along," she replies simply, looking me over.

I try to think of something to say. "Well, I think Goth's are…" my mind goes blank. Weird? No way, I dismiss quickly. Hot? Possibly, but she would probably be offended if I say that. "Cool," I finish.

She seems to light up. "Oh, really? You're into Goth stuff, huh?"

I nod my head; there was no backing out now. "Sure!"

"Name one Goth band."

Oh crap. My mind searches through for an answer but comes up empty handed. Truth was, I had no clue what the heck Goths were, let along what kind of music they listen to. But Raven's waiting for an answer. "Uh… The Death, Skull… Deathfaces?" I try. It sounds even more stupid out loud then it had in my head if that were possible, and she just shakes her head.

"The Deathskull Deathfaces? Seriously? That's the best you've got?"

I hold up my hands in defeat. "Okay, okay, so I don't know much about Goth music…"

To my surprise, she's smiling. She's quite beautiful when she smiles. "I'm just teasing. It's cute that you made the effort. Most jocks wouldn't have even bothered." I smile at her, and for a moment, everything's cool between us. I'm surprised how easy it is to talk to her; I would have thought it would be awkward as hell.

We go through the lesson with ease, and soon the class is over. As I get up from my desk, Raven hands me a flyer. "If you wanna check out the Goth scene, there's going to be an awesome show this Saturday. 'Blood Baby' is playing down at the Deathshadow Lounge," she points the address out on the flyer. "They're one of my favorite bands. You might get a kick out of them."

I nod my head, looking at the flyer. There's pictures of bats and crosses, and some creepy ghoul thing at the bottom that looks like its staring directly into my soul. "I'll think it over, okay?" 'Blood Baby?' I think in my head. That's a scary band name if ever I heard one. Points for originality, though.

…..

I head into the cafeteria, moving to my usual table where Howard is mulling over another piece of paper. He looks up as I sit down. "Hey, Luke, did you see the Homecoming flyers?"

"Homecoming? Isn't it kinda early for that?"

Howard shrugs, handing the flyer over. "Here, check this out!"

The flyer is bright yellow, with the words **Meant For Each Other**__blazed over the top in dark letters. Beneath it was text, which I read quickly.

_Ladies and Gentlemen!_

_Don't miss the annual Homecoming Dance in seven weeks,_

_Right after the big game against Wilson. _

_Who will be Homecoming King and Queen this year._

_Tickets go on sale today!_

"I see…" I say ominously. Dances were never my thing back at my other schools.

Howard, on the other hand, is almost squirming in his chair with excitement. "Man, it would be so awesome to be Homecoming King. There are the ladies, and the prestige… and the ladies!"

I laugh, quickly discovering Howard's one-track mind.

"What do you think, Luke?"

"It would be pretty cool to be Homecoming King," I say. I think Howard's enthusiasm must have rubbed off on me.

"I knew I wasn't the only one who cared about popularity! I mean, its not just about becoming Homecoming King. It's about how people treat you in general! When you're popular, kids are just nicer to you. It's no fun going through life having everyone treat you like a loser."

I think back to Raven. "I guess you've got a point there. But how am I supposed to get popular?" I feel like a dork for even asking that question.

"Well, I'll tell you my method. Watching a bunch of TV! That way, you can keep up on current events. Plus, you'll know all the latest shows."

"So, I just watch I bunch of TV, and suddenly that makes me popular?" I ask, skeptical.

"Well, watching TV helps, but you've also just got to be a cool guy in general. Help people out, be nice, and prove your awesomeness."

"Well, I'm not sure I'm ever going to care as much as you," I say honestly. "But I'll see what I can do."

…..

The next day at school, I head into the class and find it almost empty. Written on the blackboard up the front are the words '_Unsupervised Study_'. What the hell, I think. Howard walks up behind me, and seems equally confused. I look over and see Jacob and a girl with white blonde hair and glasses talking in the corner.

"Unsupervised study? What the heck is this?" I ask them.

"Yeah, they didn't have this at my old school," Howard pipes in from beside me.

Jacob claps his hands together, jumping up onto his desk. "It's the best thing to happen to this school since they started letting girls wear short-shorts," he said, doing a little jig on the desk.

"Huh?" That didn't explain much.

The girl walked over. I recognized her from the awards cabinet; she'd won valedictorian of the year. I think her name was Angie. "Due to the latest budget crisis, they're letting us go home early to study on Wednesday afternoons," she explained plainly.

"For… for real?" I was cautious since this could very well be a 'punk the new kids' situation. I wouldn't put it past Jacob.

"For real. This is your chance to do whatever you want!" Jacob jumps from the desk to the floor.

"Some people actually _do_ go study," Angie pushes her glasses further up her nose.

Jacob shakes his head, turning to me. "But most of us just watch TV or play sports."

Howard laughs. "Nice! I'm heading home. Give me a call if you want to throw the ball around our something," he says to me before leaving.

Unsupervised study. I'm beginning to like the sound of this. Centerscore definitely had its ups that went with its downs, that's for damn sure. I jump into my car and head home.

…..

My room is your typical teenage boy room. Various sports equipment sprawled everywhere, a basketball and a baseball bat, my old football trophy from school, a poster of cars I'd never be able to afford and an unmade bed that I fall onto as I decide what to do.

Homework was out of the question; no way I was wasting a free afternoon on study. I could go to football practice, but instead I take Howard's advice and head into the lounge for some TV. A newscasters speaking into her microphone rapidly. "_Coming up next, it's 'Chess Kickboxing', the only martial arts show where opponents attack each other with chess pieces."_

I burst out laughing. I had to tell somebody about this show tomorrow!

…..

The next day at lunch, I'm interrupted from my turkey sub by three girls. I recognize one as Taylor, the cheerleader who called me an idiot. Beside her stood a cheery looking redhead, who was staring blankly into the distance. And in the front was an attractive brunette girl I quickly pegged for being the 'Queen Bee'.

"So, you're the new kid Adam roughed up? Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Paula, and these are my associates Taylor and Amanda."

Taylor flicks her hair at me. "I've seen you around…"

Amanda grins widely. "You smell like soap."

I laugh, and Paula turns to look at her friend. "Quiet, Amanda!"

"Eep!" Amanda steps back and looks like a puppy that's just been told off.

Paula turns back towards me, looking down her nose. "Anyway, I heard you _might_ be trying out for the football team tomorrow, which means you _might _be cool. Maybe even cool enough to hang out with us."

"Uh…" I didn't really know how to react. This chick was seriously self-assured.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we'll be watching." She turned on her heel and left, her last words sounding more and more like a warning to me with each step away she takes.

Taylor gives me an almost apologetic smile. "See you later, Luke."

"Bye," Amanda smiles, a genuine one, which I can't help but return, and the two move after Paula.

Well, that was an interesting run in, I think. This week was proving more and more fascinating with each passing day.

…..

Friday comes quickly, and after class is over, Howard and I head out onto the field for tryouts. I hate to admit it, but I'm nervous. Adam may be an ass, but from what I heard, he's a damn good player. And if he taught Bryce everything he knew… I shake the thought from my mind. I got this, I tell myself. Bryce might be good, but I was too. I was a starter at my last school, and I held my own at the scrimmage on Monday against Chuck.

The Coach greets the new group. He's a gruff looking guy, with an overly big nose that looks like it had been broken one to many times. He's got a blue cap on and a whistle around his neck. He looks like the kind of guy that sleeps with it. "Hello, gentlemen, and welcome to the worst two weeks of your life."

Here we go, the inspirational yet offending speech. I'd heard it too many times to count.

"If you don't make the cut, you can always try cheerleading." A few guys snigger, but the coach stares them into silence. "The rest of you, though, will be a team. My team! The Fighting Lizards!"

Adam appears at my side. "Sounds tough, meat. You sure you're up for this?"

I stare him down, and he just grins, moving past me.

For the next hour, I run a series of intense drills, sprints, and other exercises that violate basic human decency. Howard pants up to me. "Huff… huff, can't, go…on," he breathes out.

I lean over, bracing myself on my knees. "Quit… complaining," I mumble. "Coach is heading this way!" We both straighten up, and pretend like we can go for an hour more.

"You there! Rookie!" he's pointing at me, and I jog over to him. "What position are you trying out for?"

"Quarterback," I reply.

"Is that so?" He turns to the bleachers, calling out. "Well, well, Adam. Looks like you've got a little competition!"

Adam walks over slowly, his friends following him. "Competition, huh? Let's see you compete with this. Go long, Chuck!" Chuck sprints all the way down to the end zone, and Adam throws a long pass right to him!

Holy hell! I think, not trying to hide my surprise. He's got some kind of cyborg rocket laser arm. I can't compete with that!

The Coach turns to me with a smug smile. "Nicely done, Adam! See that, rookie? That's what a starting quarterback looks like. Of course, we do still have to figure Adam's backup. You're up, kid! Show me what you've got!"

Alright! I take the football from Chuck's hands, running out onto the field. This was it. This throw had to be amazing, or my ass would be benched for the whole season. I work up my muscle, shaking my hand out, before I call to Howard. "Go long!" Howard sprints down to the end zone, and I throw the ball right to him. It sails through the air beautifully into his outstretched hands.

I can't help but feel a little smug.

The coach is nodding his head. "Not bad, not bad. You're no Adam, but you might make a nice backup!"

Adam, clearly not happy with this, steps forward. "That was a lucky throw! Bryce, show 'em what you've got."

"Done." Bryce takes the football roughly from Howard, and throws it cleanly to the end zone. Typical, I think to myself.

The coach is rubbing his chin in thought. "Hmm… this is a tough decision. Either one of you could make a good fit for the team. Bryce was a solid backup last year… but Luke might have more upside…" Bryce and I both stand side by side, waiting for Coach's choice. "So, here's what we're going to do. I am making an executive coaching decision! I'll let the two of you decide the backup position… by scrimmaging for it next week!"

Bryce and me look at each other immediately. "Scrimmaging?" I ask.

"Exactly! We'll play a practice game right after school next Friday! Lucas and Bryce can be quarterbacks for opposite teams. And whoever wins is Adam's backup! And whoever loses… you'll be out."

"What?!"

Bryce grins at me. "I'll see you next week, Luke…"

Okay, now I'm freaking out. The others head way, all tiredly shuffling to the locker rooms. Howard walks up to me, holding out a bottle of water. "Whoa. That was pretty intense."

"And I guess it's not over yet."

…..

Saturday I spend most of the morning watching TV, trying to forget about the event of practice on Friday. I guess I should have probably been at the gym. But what the hell… It's a documentary of some guy with curly white hair and a thick accent. "_We go live in Australia, where 'Kangaroo Cuddling', a baffling new spot, is sweeping the nation_.

Howard would laugh his head off when he heard about this.

Mum appears at the door. "Don't tell your dad, but I love that show too."

That night, I sit on the bed. Only the first week and I've got options. There's the party at the beach with Beth, who was drop dead gorgeous but clearly came with some baggage. Or there was the creepy concert with Raven. I had to admit, I wasn't too keen on the band 'Blood Baby' but Raven intrigued me. She was mysterious.

I suppose I could forgo the woman all together, play it single for a while.

I shake my head. No way. I think back to the girls. Raven was nice, but there was something about Beth… I'm smiling just thinking about her. Beach party it is. The night is pretty cool, so I dress in a pair of jeans and a tee, going casual.

…..

I get to the beach around 8, and the sun is already set, the sky alight with stars. It was a clear night, and I follow the noise and light of a giant bonfire to the party. There are heaps of students there, chatting and laughing away. There are a few beer bottles lying around, and I pick one up, snapping the cap off with my keys and taking a swig. I can hear music playing from a portable stereo someone bought, _Kings of Leon 's 'Radioactive_' I quickly discern. Someone had good taste in music.

Clearly this was the place to be on Saturday night.

I feel a soft hand on my arm, and I turn to see Beth. She's dressed in a green singlet and a tight pair of jeans, a dark scarf around her neck. It's almost criminal how good she looks. "Luke! You made it."

I smile at her. "Are you kidding? How could I pass up an invitation from a girl as pretty as you?" I say.

"Hee hee! You're shameless, you know that?" I nod my head, and she laughs, taking my hand in hers. "Now let me introduce you to some of my friends!" She leads me into the crowd, and I let myself get tugged along. "Hey, Amanda! Have you met Lucas?"

The redhead I met on Thursday looks up at me with a wide grin. "Yup! Luke and I have been friends forever!" she replies, giving me a tight hug. She steps back, eyeing up Beth and me. "So, are you Beth's boyfriend now?" she asks simply.

"Uh…No" I reply. It was clear Beth hated possessive boyfriends. And frankly, I wasn't too sure whether I wanted to go serious with her yet either.

Amanda frowned. "Oh, you're not? Then are you single? Because you're pretty cute, and my boyfriend isn't around…"

"Amanda!" Beth snaps angrily.

I smile, turning to her. "Heh, it's okay. Amanda, I'm here with Beth, but we're just trying to have a good time. I mean, we just met a few days ago. It's a little too soon to talk about commitment."

"Exactly!" Beth gives my hand a squeeze, before dropping it.

"I tried commitment once, but it smelled funny!" Amanda says, before happily running off. Beth shakes her head, turning to me. "Thanks for being so understanding, Luke. I hate it when guys try to rush things!" We look at each other for a long while, and I feel tension spark between us. She seems to notice it too, and steps back from me. "Wait right here for a minute, I need to talk to Taylor about something!" She heads away, smiling back at me over her shoulder as she did. Okay, so maybe I am falling for her a little bit.

I stand around, looking at the huge raging fire for a while before Chuck strolls up to me, a beer in his hand. "Whoa! Luke! What're you doing here?" he asks.

"I'm here with Beth, she invited me." I pause. "Is that cool?"

Chuck shrugged. "Hey man, I'm not judging. You can hang out here. So long as you brought your burn item!"

"My what now?"

"Beth didn't tell you?! The beach bonfire is all about burning old stuff you want to get rid of! I burned my past report card, Bryce burned some old love letters, Amanda burned her drivers license…" I smile at that one. "You did remember to bring a burn item, right?"

"Uh, of course. I'll just throw in my…" I look at my clothes. Pants were out of the question; I was not spending the rest of the night in my underwear. I was wearing my worn pair of black Converse shoes, but I literally loved those shoes, and wouldn't part with them unless they died. "Shirt!" I start pulling the tee off, thinking of how I'm going to explain it to mom when I get home. "I, uh, never liked this shirt! It's full of bad memories!" I screw my tee up into a ball and go to throw it in when Beth appears in front of me, holding up her hand

"Luke! What's going on here?" She takes in my shirtless appearance, looking between a guilty Chuck and me. "Is Chuck trying to pull the old 'burn item' prank?!"

_Prank_? Crap, I almost fell for it!

Chuck frowns. "Aw man… Way to be a hater, Beth!" He wanders off with his beer, and I pull my tee back on sheepishly, looking at Beth.

"I can't believe I almost fell for that…" She must think I'm such a gullible sucker.

She smiles at me. "Oh, that's okay. I've seen at least ten different guys throw their clothes in!"

I nod my head.

"But I've got to say," she adds, "none of them looked as good without a shirt!"

I laugh. I was getting to like this casual flirting going on between us. We talk for a while longer about anything and everything. She's got a younger sister in primary, Michelle, who is obsessed with unicorns. Her dad is a realtor named Dave Morgan and her mother's name is Karen. Beth has been cheerleading since her first year at Centerscore, and absolutely loves it.

I tell her as little as I can about my family. I want to avoid any questions that may lead to me saying anything about Alice.

We chat for a while, sharing stories, and then break apart to mingle with other people.

I meet another guy on the team, a huge guy named Zach. He seems cool, and we chat for a while, mostly about his wide selection of sports cars. His fathers loaded, basically buying Zach whatever he wants.

It gets late, and I move away from the crowd to the waters edge, sitting down on the sand. It's times like this that I miss Alice the most. She would thrive in this environment; she was always so social before the accident. I hear someone walking up, and I turn to see Beth as she sits beside me.

"Hey there, good-looking. How're you enjoying the party?" She asks me, nudging my shoulder with her own.

I sigh, brushing the sand from my jeans and leaning back. "I'm having a great time. We never did anything like this at my old school."

"Well, Centerscore's a pretty special place." The way she says it has me curious. "Sometimes, I wonder if…"

Her sentence cuts off as a sharp wind gusts by. Sand gets all over me, and the scarf from Beth's neck gets blown right into the ocean. We both get to our feet.

Beth's almost frantic. "Oh no! My scarf! My grandmother gave me that!"

I pull my shirt off for the second time that night, tossing it to the side. I gotta save the damsel in distress. "I've got it, Beth! Don't worry!" I run into the water, it's so damn freezing. Okay, don't think about sharks, don't think about sharks, I say as the water goes to my shoulders and I have to start paddling. I can see the scarf bobbing in the distance, and I push myself further forward. Please, no sharks, no sharks! I freestyle for a minute, I'm pretty far off shore now. I reach out, and I can feel the heavy material in my hands. Hey, I got it, I think in surprise. I turn to the shore, and yell, "Yes! I got it!"

I swim back quickly, and find a small crowd has gathered on the shore. As I walk out, scarf in hand, they all applaud heartily. Chuck walks towards me, clamping me on the shoulder. "Dude, you did it! That was _awesome_!"

Beth appears at my side, a shocked look on her face. "You… you could have gotten hurt," she says to me breathlessly.

I hand her back her scarf, breathing heavily from the cold. "For you, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"

Amanda, who was standing in the crowd, steps forward. "That. Is. So. _ROMANTIC_!" She jumps up and down, managing to kiss my cheek.

The crowd disperses, and I grab my discarded tee and walk towards the bonfire. I'm grateful for the heat, but I'm still shivering. Note to self; don't go for a dip in the ocean at 11pm. I feel a towel get draped over my shoulders.

"Thanks for getting my scarf, Luke," Beth sits beside me, her face serious despite her smile. "But it's not worth risking your life over it."

I'm freezing my ass off. "You're right. It was reckless of me."

She nods, but her eyes light up. "Of course it was. But it was also really sweet and heroic." She leans in and her warm lips press against my freezing cheek. Inside, I'm doing a dance for joy, literally! I smile as she pulls back, and we sit by the fire for a while until I'm warmed up. It's pretty late by now, my parents were probably freaking out.

I pull my tee over my head, getting to my feet. "I had a really good time tonight, Beth." I hold out my hand, and she uses it as leverage to stand.

"I had a really good time, Lucas. But… don't get carried away," she puts her hands on her hips, an eyebrow raised high on her forehead. "Just because we went on one date doesn't make us a couple, you know?"

I give my best lopsided 'Han Solo' grin. "So this was a date?"

She gives me a flirtatious look, her eyes lighting up. "Only if you want it to be."

Oh man, do I want it to be!

"I'm going to head home," she reaches up and touches my cheek with the back of her finger. My skin is tingling beneath her touch. "But let's do this again, sometime, all right?"

"Sure thing!"

I head to my car. All in all, the night went damn well aside from my late night dip. But saving a treasured item for a beautiful girl did have its perks. I was well on my way to having to hottest girl in school as my girlfriend. Life was good for Luke!


	3. Chapter 3

**AU: Picking up where we left off, thanks so much to whoever's reading this story :)**

Sunday is traditionally a day of rest, but not in my case. I was heading for the gym. With my upcoming scrimmage with Bryce only 5 days away, I needed to make sure I was in the best shape I could be, which meant foregoing a sleep-in in favor of a 6am wake-up call by my alarm.

I pull my gym gear on, still half asleep until I stumble outside and the freezing air hits me in the face like a ton of bricks. Not that I had ever been hit in the face with a ton of bricks. Whoever came up with that saying was crazy.

The school gym is empty when I get there, which didn't surprise me. What normal high school guy woke up before the sun to sweat and swear and strain. I throw my headphones in, pumping a little Daft Punk as I lift weights for a few hours then hit the treadmill.

4 hours on, my lungs burn, my arms ache and I continue on until I can't lift a finger anymore. That should really help my game, I think, as I hit the showers.

…..

Monday morning, the second week I've been at Centerscore High.

All in all, I hadn't had too bad a first week, I guess. Nobody is really talking about my fight with Adam anymore, more my dashing in the freezing ocean for Beth's scarf on Saturday night. I was kind of a local hero for helping out the cheerleader.

Beth… my maybe girlfriend, I think as I head up the steps into the main building towards my first class of the day. Even thinking about her brings a smile to my face; I must look like a total goof walking down the hall grinning. I head into Math class, led by a charismatic man named Mr. Russell. He seems nice enough. Math has always been my strongest class.

He walks up, paper in his hand. "Luke, please answer these questions." I nod my head. "Roughly how many centimeters are in an inch?"

"2.54," I reply easily.

"Correct! What number comes next: 2, 4, 8, 16…"

"32."

"Correct!" I can tell Mr. Russell is pleased his new student is not an idiot. "50 x 50?"

"2500."

"Correct!" He lists off my stats, and I once again leave class holding my 3.0 average. That new car was totally coming my way.

…..

I'm wandering back from my car during lunch period, and spot Howard heading the same way.

"Hey, Howard!" I call, and he turns and waits for me to catch up. "You wanna go get some food?" Eating had quickly become our favorite activity together.

"Sure, dude. I'm thinking there's a slice of pizza with my name on it down in the cafeteria."

We go to move into the school when Adam and the guys get in our way, surrounding us. By now, I'm kind of growing sick of these little games Adam's playing, and don't bother hiding my annoyance.

Adam walks straight up to me, staunching me out like a scene from _West Side Story_. "Actually, meat, you've already got lunch plans." This guy just doesn't quit!

"What are you talking about, Adam?" Howard asks a little nervously.

I could probably guess. He'd probably go for something classy like a knuckle sandwich. Real original.

"Hmm, well, you remember what our school mascot is, right?"

"Sure I do. It's a lizard." I remember it pretty clearly. On the school cheerleading outfit, the lizard sits right over the girls… chest. Hey, I never said I was a saint.

Adam seems surprised I'm not an idiot. "Huh, Well I guess you're not as _completely_ brain-dead as you look."

"Can we just get to the point?" I ask, angrily. "What's going on here?"

"If you want to have any chance of becoming a Fighting Lizard, there's a test you wannabes have to pass," Adam turns to Chuck, motioning him forward. "Chuck, the Lizard Box, please."

_Lizard Box_? I think. That doesn't sound too good.

"You got it! Man, I love hazing recruits!" Chuck walks forward, a shoebox in his hands.

"You all know how a lizard can shed its tail and run away, right? Well, we've got quite a delicacy for you today." Oh, you gotta be kidding me! Adam pulls the lid off the box to reveal a dozen lizard tails. I wonder for a moment how they got them all, and a picture of a group of tail-less lizards comes into my head.

Howard steps back, swallowing. "I'm gonna be sick."

"Take whichever one looks juiciest. You're each going to eat a tail on the count of three."

Howard and me look at one another, before stepping up to the box. Believe it or not, this probably wasn't the weirdest thing I'd had to eat before. Still didn't make them any more appealing. Howard reaches in, pointing at one. "This one doesn't look so bad."

"They all look equally bad to me," I reply, gagging a little.

Adam's clearly loving this. "Ready?"

Chuck's grinning from ear to ear. "One, two, _three_."

I reach in and grab the closest one, throwing it in my mouth and swallowing it all in one disgusting go. Howard did the same as me, and he put a hand on my shoulder once we'd safely gotten it down.

"Nice, man!" he said. "We're lizards now…" he pauses, and his face goes a little green. "Eww… creepy. I think I can feel it wriggling in my stomach."

"That wasn't so bad," I say to him.

Chuck laughs, closing up the box. "I knew you had it in you, Luke! Welcome to the team!"

Adam scoffs. "Ha. When Bryce was a recruit, he ate five lizard tails and didn't blink… and you think you can beat him on the field?"

What the hell did eating lizard appendages have to do with football, I want to ask. Bryce stares me down like he's the man, before the guys all walk away. Chuck stays behind.

"Hey, now that you guys have passed the test, you should come to my party this Friday." He claps his hand down on my shoulder.

"Sure thing," I say. "Just as long as you serve better food."

"Heh. I'll do my best." He heads away, calling out, "See you there!"

Howard and I go directly to the cafeteria once they had left, and drown out the lizard tails with mounds of pizza and soda.

…..

The next day at lunch, I'm in the line waiting for food, when I overhear Taylor and Amanda talking a few people up from me.

"…and then Paula is like 'You breathe loud, stop it.'" Amanda was saying. "But how am I supposed to stop breathing? And then… and then she said I was fat!"

Taylor rolls her eyes. "You're totally _not_ fat. You're totally cute," she puts her hand on a clearly distraught Amanda's shoulder. "Paula had been stepping over the line lately. Maybe we should do something…"

The line moves forward, and I skip passed the salad part and head straight for the macaroni and cheese.

"Oh! That guy Luke is coming over here! Is he cool! I can't remember…."

"I dunno. I guess we could talk to him and find out." The two girls push passed a few students who start to complain, but when they realize who they are, shut their mouths and give up their spots to the cheerleaders.

Taylor slides in on my right, Amanda on my left. "Hey Luke. Did you see 'Desperate Midwives' last night?" Taylor asks me.

"Yeah! I can't believe Tina delivered Sophie's mom's baby!" I exclaim, loading up my tray as I discussed the episode.

Taylor lights up. "Neither can I! Maybe we should watch that show together sometime!"

The two girls head away, chatting with their heads together. Guess the popular kids are starting to like me, I think. Howard's method of watching TV was paying off.

…..

I get a free study period later that day, and I use it to run a few laps on the track. Cardio was definitely one of the main things a quarterback needs. Cardio and a freakin' good throwing arm. I was working on both.

I've been running for a good fifteen minutes, and the cheerleaders are practicing a routine center field that I keep my eyes on as I make my way around the track. Around my 6th lap, I see Beth break away from the other cheerleaders, walking out to the track and waiting until I get up to her. She has that smile on her face, the one that gets my heart pumping like I've run a marathon, so to my already pounding heart, it's almost painful. "Hey there, good-looking. You got plans this Saturday?"

"Nope!" I answer. "You wanna hang out?" Nice casual way of asking the girl out on a date, I think.

"Sure! What do you want to do?"

Oooh, this could be tricky. What I _wanted_ to do wouldn't require us leaving the house, but I figure I'm months away from that stage. "We should hang out at the mall," I reply. Safe bet.

"Eeeee! I love the mall! See you there!" She turns on her heel, sauntering back to her group and giving me that trade-mark look over her shoulder.

I'm probably going to love the mall too if Saturday turns out good. I start jogging again, but my hearts racing before I even make the first bend.

…..

In 4th period, I'm sitting through a particularly boring lecture when Ryan, the stoner skating guy who sits in the desk behind me, leans forward. "Psst! Luke!" he whispers to me when the teachers back is turned. "My buddy and I are gonna hit the beach. Want to get out of here with us?"

Beside me, Spud shakes his head. "Don't do it, Luke! For the sake of your GPA!"

Ryan kicks in the back of Spuds chair, almost making it fall over. "Whatever. Only nerds never ditch. How about it, Lucas? You wanna cut class?"

I'm holding a 3.0, and this lecture is like a lukewarm death, so I nod. "Sure."

Ryan and I successfully leave the classroom without the teacher realizing, which was impressive considering neither of us was particularly stealth like and small. We meet up with Ryan's friend Travis. He's a tough looking guy with a unibrow and an almost permanent frown. We all jump into Ryan's truck and head to the beach. As we get out, Travis suddenly turns animated. "Yes! Just check out all the girls out here today!"

I look around, and see he's right. They're probably college girls, by the looks. I'm with Beth, but there's no harm in looking.

We spend the day at the beach, Ryan and Travis both start chatting up girls. I talk to a few, but none of them even come close to evoking the same emotions in me one look from Beth does. It still beat sitting in a classroom.

"It's been fun hanging out, but we should head back before anyone catches on that we left."

I get back for homeroom, slipping into the classroom and taking my seat. Successful first ditch, I think. And Ryan and Travis seem like pretty cool guys. Not bad.

…..

After school, I head into the gym and see a few guys from the football team hanging in the weight room.

Chuck spots me and quickly waves me over to them. "Hey, Luke! You here to join the Buff Club?"

"Uh, what's Buff Club?" I drop my gym bag in the corner, folding my arms over one another.

Jacob pipes in. "It's the club for dudes who want to get strong."

Zach, who's already packed with muscle, stands up. "If you join up, you might eventually look as good as me!" He tenses a bicep for emphasis which makes him look like the incredible Hulk.

"Why don't you try lifting this barbell over here," he points to the weight. "We'll see where you're at so far!"

I walk over to the weight, taking it in my hands. In my head, I count to three, and lift in up over my head. "This is easy!"

Jacob's eyes go wide. "Whoa! I can barely lift that much. Of course, I'm also the weakest guy on the team."

"Not bad, Luke, I'm impressed." Chuck folds his arms.

"At this rate, maybe you'll be as strong as Adam one day." Huh, that's a comment and a half. Still had a fair bit to go before I could match that cyborg. I make it a note to hit the gym as much as possible, since I'm a member of the Buff Club now. Gotta do the boys proud!

…..

That Wednesdays 'unsupervised study' period is spent in the gym, pumping iron. Chuck's comes in a half hour later and we spot one another for an hour. "Whoa! That's a scary face!"

My weight is halfway in the air and I start laughing, struggling to keep it up.

"Grit your teeth at the other team like that next game!" he says, taking hold of the bar and helping me place it back on its frame. I feel a lot stronger, one more step closer to Adam. Just a hundred more to go.

…..

Thursday passes without anything eventful happening, other then Amanda accidentally flushing her car keys down the toilet. Friday is a completely different story. I can barely concentrate during class since my mind is focused entirely on my scrimmage with Bryce.

I _needed_ to bring my A game if I wanted a position on this team. There was no way I was sitting out for the season. I didn't even care that I'd be Adam's backup, and that was saying something.

After class, I suit up and trot out onto the field, trying to ignore the butterflies that are bouncing around in my gut with each step. Probably should have skipped the burrito at lunch.

Bryce is already waiting for me, grinning at something Adam was saying as they both watched me jogging out. They probably thought this would be a walk in the park.

There was no frakking way I was losing. In fact, I'm about ready to bring the pain, and with Howard and Chuck on my team, I'm pretty sure I'm going to wipe the field with Bryce's smug little pretty-boy face.

As I'm getting ready, jogging on the spot and shaking out my arms, Howard is sitting on the bench when two little girls run up to him. Howard sits up straighter, his eyes wide. "Kay? Kel?" He looks from one to the other in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Kay gives him a little hug. "Our school is just down the street! Mom and Dad said we could come here after school every Friday to watch you play soccer!"

I smile. "I think you kids mean 'football'."

Kel just nods. "Sure."

I look to a clearly traumatized Howard. "I didn't know you had little sisters," I grin.

Howard runs a hand through his hair. "The twins are usually too busy getting into trouble to be properly introduced to anyone," he explains.

Kay clearly isn't listening to her brother. She turns to her sister. "This is boring! Let's go buy candy!" They run off, hand in hand to the vending machine near the cafeteria.

"They seem like a handful," I say, reaching for my helmet.

"You don't know the half of it…" Howard shoots a look over his shoulder, probably to make sure his younger sisters aren't vandalizing school property.

"Hey, we'd better hurry out to the field. It looks like Coach is ready to start."

The two of us join the other football players as the Coach barks out some encouragement in his own special way. "Okay, you useless lumps of dough, get into the football frying pan, and bake yourselves into something worthwhile!"

Bryce looks at me across the circle the players had made. "Let's do this."

I get the offensive first through the coin toss, and I'm ready to take it to the end. I get some decent throws to Howard, a 25 yard one during the third down. We score the first goal with ease, perhaps taking the opposing team by surprise, and then move into our defensive positions. I make sure Chuck's ready, he's going to be my main man for this part of the game. Bryce manages to gain around 20 yards before we force back possession. I can't help but smile when Chuck shoulder checks him to the ground during the forth down.

66 yards to the goal. I'm determined to do it and I make it in three beautiful throws, each with the ball sailing through the air into Howard's unfailing grip. This was turning out to be a damn walk in the park.

Instead of just winning, I make it my goal to make sure Bryce doesn't score one touchdown That'll secure my spot for sure! There's one beautiful play during the first half. Bryce's team was on the offensive, and I read his play perfectly. When Bryce received the ball, I had Chuck on him immediately. The heavy defense player nailed Bryce right in the side, knocking the ball into my already waiting hands. I could see the Coach's grin from here.

The 1st half finishes with me holding a massive 21-0 lead over the red faced and puffing Bryce. It ain't over yet, I think smugly. I'm just getting warmed up. Bryce fumbles an easy ball, and I force a turnover. I can see Adam pacing back and forth, yelling from the sidelines at his mate who was constantly making mistakes. He looked angry enough to be blowing fire from his lungs. It makes me even happier.

Howard is doing awesome too. He's proving a valuable wide receiver, and the coach is taking note. Jacob's still got an edge, I'd never seen a guy run so fast. But Howard definitely looked prone to be the back up, especially if we kept up this thrashing. I throw the football a whopping 29 yards the first play of the second half, and we make the goal line in 2 downs. Bryce is getting pissed off now, barking orders to his team left right and center.

He's predictable as hell. I read his plays like an open book, and Chuck's always there, stopping the opposing team from making any sort of progress forward. They hadn't made one decent play yet, and if I had it my way, they wouldn't.

He wasn't a complete failure as a quarterback. Once or twice, he had avoided turnovers, and he'd managed to get a few decent throws in. But he was outmatched this time.

By the time the clock has run out, the score is sitting nicely at 42 – 12 in my favor.

I had earned my place on the team.

Afterwards, there is raucous round of backslapping and helmet butting on my team as we leave the field triumphantly. I take my helmet off, putting it beside me on the bleachers. I'd worked up a sweat, but it was well worth it.

Bryce walks up to me, removing his helmet. To my surprise, he doesn't look pissed. He holds out his hand, and I shake it. "You played the better game today, Luke. Good luck this season." He was a gracious loser, Adam should take note, I think. He walks away, and Coach runs up. "That… That does it! It looks like the Fighting Lizards just found a new backup quarterback!"

Jacob fist pumps the air. "Whoo hoo! Go Luke!"

I get up, shaking the coach's hand. "You can count on me, Coach!"

As predicted, Adam is _not_ happy. I'm beginning to think all this guy can do is bitch and whine. He walks up to us, shaking his head gruffly. "Are you kidding me? This rookie!" He pokes me in the chest, I let it slide. No way I was risking losing my place over Adam's little hissy fit. "What about Bryce?!"

"Bryce is still a solid player. I'll find a place for him," Coach brushes Adam off. "But like it or not, Adam, Lucas just earned his spot. He's your teammate now. And you're going to have to help train him."

"Oh, I'll train him all right…!" He stares me down in warning before storming off to the locker room. Man, that guy had _serious_ problems, I think. He doesn't ruin my mood though. That scrimmage couldn't have gone better! Howard runs up to me, shaking my hand. "Nice work, bro! Backup QB! Whoo hoo! And I'm backup wide receiver!" I clamp a hand on his shoulder in congratulations. "It's officially time to celebrate! Let's go to Chuck's party!"

Kay and Kel run up, arms full of candy. "We're going to a party?" Kel asks, eyes wide in excitement.

Howard's face drops. "Uh, I guess I've got to drop the twins off at home first."

I laugh. "Right, I'll see you at Chuck's place," I say. I pack up my gear, throwing it all into my bag and hitting the showers. Everything was going so perfect. I was backup quarterback, everyone on the team besides Adam were happy, and I had a date with Beth tomorrow night. Life was good!

….

A few hours late, I'm at Chuck's party. It's a pretty casual night, hardly a party more then just the football team players hanging out. We've all moved to his basement, where he's got a pool and fooseball table set up. He's got _Kings of Leon_ pumping out the stereo, and I quickly discover he's the one who was providing the tunes last Saturday. We're all a few drinks down, and chatting and laughing.

"Good to have you on the team, rookie." Zach says to me, sculling down a soda.

Jacob nods. "Yeah! Congratulations on making it!" We chat for a while happily, and then Adam walks down the steps into the basement. There's a hush in words, the only sound is the music. Adam takes one look at me and rolls his eyes. "Great. You're here. Who invited you, anyway?" he snaps.

Chuck stands up. "I did," he says simply. "If you look around, you'll see we're in my house, and you'll realize that this is _my _party. Like, that's _my_ chair, and that's _my _drink…" he pauses, pointing to a rug on the couch, "and that's _my _Blankie!"

Adam laughs sarcastically. "Well, clearly Lucas should fit right in. He's got no problem taking other people's stuff."

I stand up, putting my beer to the side. "If you're talking about Beth…!" I begin angrily, taking a step towards him.

Adam cuts me off with a sharp wave of his hand. "You know what, Luke? You can have her. I know how that girl works. And you're going to end up getting dumped just like I did."

"We'll see…" I say to him in a low voice. I didn't like this guy one bit, and if he said anything bad about Beth, he'd be in for it.

"Whatever, man. I'm taking off. See yah." He turns and goes back up the steps. As he leaves, it's like someone turns the volume back up on everything, and the guys start talking animatedly again.

"I hate to say it, but I think the party's going to be more gun without him." Jacob grabs a handful of chips from the bowl.

"Easy, Jacob…" Chuck says in a low voice. "Adam's still a Lizard." Clearly, being a team carried a lot of weight around here, guess that meant I'd probably eventually have to start liking Adam. Jacob goes quiet, and Chuck gives a shrug. "Anyway, this is supposed to be a party. So let's have some fun!" He grabs a few pool cues, tossing them to each one of us.

We team up, I'm with Jacob, and we play a couple of games. Hanging with the guys is fun. "Eight ball in the corner pocket!" I say, hitting the black ball. It rolls in beautifully, and Jacob high fives me. "Nice one, Luke!"

The rest of the night is spent much the same, and I leave around midnight, getting into my car and heading home. It's turning into a dark cloudy night, and I hear a warning thunder clap sound. As a pull down the main road, I spot a lone figure walking along the footpath. As I get closer, I see that it's Adam.

What the hell is he doing out here? I cruise up close, wondering whether I should just drive on by or offer him a ride. I know what Adam would do. But as I go to pass, I quickly indicate, pulling up to the curb. I'm not Adam. I wind down the window. "Hey. It's starting to rain. You want a ride?"

He shakes his head, continuing to stomp forward. "I don't need your charity," he replies.

I roll my eyes. "Come on. You're going to get sick. We can go back to hating each other tomorrow."

Adam pauses on the street as the rain starts falling softly. "Fine." He circles around the front, hopping into the passenger seat. I pull away from the curb, heading down the road. It's a pretty awkward atmosphere once he's in there. We don't talk at all for a few minutes. "Uh… so, where are we going?" I ask finally as I pull up to the main street intersection.

"Take a left over there," Adam points out a road, which I take. "And now a right here."

I quickly take in my surroundings. This was one of the poorest parts of town, with government housing everywhere. It looked like a dodgy kind of neighborhood. "Yeah. That's my place right there." He points out a small house, a bit tidier then the others down the street.

I pull up closer, spotting a red ute sitting outside. "Is that your car parked in the driveway?" I ask, pulling in behind it.

"Yeah," Adam replied. "But I don't drive it anymore." His tone warns me not to ask why, and I know better then to pry. After all, we all have secrets we don't want people to know about. I put the car in park, and Adam unbuckles his seatbelt. "Anyway… Thanks for the ride."

I'm surprised he even said it, and I nod. "No problem."

He gets out and heads inside, and I pull away and head home. Well, we weren't best friends or anything, but we were a step away from being total enemies. And we were teammates now. Teammates had to be there for one another.

…..

I sleep in Saturday after getting home way too late, and wake up at about 10am to a bright sunny day and an unbearably hot room. My first thought in waking up is how psyched I am at seeing Beth tonight. I saw her at school, sure, but this was different. Tonight, it was only going to be her and me. I get out of bed and throw open my heavy dark curtains to let some air in. I head to the kitchen and down some cereal. After breakfast, I get changed into some shorts and a singlet. Now that I'm on the team, I really needed to stay fit and show the Coach that I took my position seriously.

I drive to the school gym. It's empty when I get there which I was kind of expecting. There weren't many students keen to waste a decent Saturday sweating buckets and straining muscles. I put my headphones in and start my workout playlist. I pump iron for an hour, then move to the floor mat and do my push ups and stomach crunches. Lastly, I hit the treadmill and jog a nice steady pace, focusing on the music and not my burning lungs.

The door opens and Jacob walks in, towel around his neck, and I take one of my headphones out and wave.

He looks me over. "Wow, Luke! Looks like you're putting on some muscle."

I nod at him. I feel stronger.

…..

I pick Beth up from her house at around 6 and we head to the mall. I'm a little shamed out about my car, but she doesn't really seem to mind, or at least, she gives me the courtesy of not saying anything. She's dressed in a short white skirt and her favorite green singlet. When we get out, she smiles widely at me. "Yay! I love going to the mall!" We start walking towards it, side by side so that our hands brush occasionally. "It's so hard to find a guy who loves shopping!"

"Yeah… uh, I sure do love that," I mumble.

"I'm so excited!" We head into the bright lights of the mall, and she turns to me. "Where do you wanna go first?"

"Hmmm, let's hit up…" I take a look at some of the closest shops to us. The first is one called Silky Fantasies Lingerie Boutique. From the stuff on display, it looks a bit too risky for our first date. I didn't want her thinking I was all about sex. I wasn't, not with her.

There is another shop to my right, 'Pretty Shiny Jewelry Megastore', but that ran the risk of having her find something that she loves and me having to fork out my entire savings account. "Shoe-topia?" I decide, raising my eyebrows at her.

She jumps in excitement, taking my hand. "I _love _Shoe-topia!"

"Yeah…" I look down at our linked hands. "Shoes sure are… fun."

We head into the store, and I take a seat as she runs from shelf to shelf, taking shoes down and trying them on, discarding them and finding more. I'm quickly getting bored out of my brain, but if this is what she wants, I'm game. "Which do you think look better, the black pumps with red laces or the red pumps with black laces?"

I shake back into reality, looking at the shoes on her feet. I honestly couldn't care less, but she's waiting for a reply. "Um… The black ones," I decide.

"Okay, and how do they compare to the black pumps with black laces?"

"About the same, I guess…?"

She smiles at me. "This is so much fun! Just two hundred more pairs to try on…" she rushes off to another section. Well, I think tiredly, she's having a good time. So I guess I can't complain, right?

After forever, she finally leaves the shoes behind, and we walk hand in hand around the mall, stopping at display cases every so often. "Oooh, can we stop by 'Dress It Up'? I haven't picked out what I'm wearing to Homecoming yet."

"Sure, why not?" Dresses surely had to be less painful then shoes had been. We head into the store, and I look around. This place was massive, I'd be in here for the rest of my life!

Beth starts flicking through some of the clothes, looking over her shoulder at me. "Wanna help me find something nice?" I shrug at her. "Why don't you look over there," she points to the other side of the shop, "and I'll look over here?"

"Um… okay," I move away from her, walking to a rack and going through the dresses slowly. This felt really strange, and out of place. I wanted to have a sign that said, 'Shopping For Girlfriend, Not For Me!.' I'd already earned a few double takes from other customers. I come across a short hot-red dress. It's pretty cute, but the front's a bit low cut. Beside it, there's a vintage looking white cotton dress. I look between the two, trying to picture Beth in either.

I opt for the red one, walking back towards her. Nothing wrong with Hot and Revealing. "Heya, what do you think of this?" I hold the dress up.

"Oooo! Lucas, it's so nice," she pulls it to her figure. "And it's really flattering. Besides, it'll totally make the chaperones flip!" I laugh at her cheeky smile, and she grabs my hand, walking to the changing rooms. "Why don't you just sit tight?" she presses me into one of the leather seats, her hand lingering on my chest a little longer then it needed to. "I'm going to try it on…" She turns and walks into a changing room, winking at me slyly before pulling the curtain shut.

I wait around for a couple of minutes, trying desperately not to imagine what's taking place on the other side of the curtain. And then it opens, revealing her in the dress. She is absolutely stunning! And not your high school prom dress stunning, Beth looked like your actress ready for the red carpet. I'm honestly speechless. "Whoa! You look…" I blink slowly. "You look…" Say something, I snap angrily. Why did I always get tongue tied in the worst situations?

She looks up at me, her eyes wide at my reaction. "What is it? Do I look okay?" she asks me.

"Yes! Of course!" I smile, gaining my composure. "Beth, you look beautiful. Gorgeous, Stunning!"

Her face lights up. "Really? You think so?"

"I really do. You look_ amazing_." I stand up, taking her hand in mine and rubbing my thumb over palm.

She smiles at me. "Thanks, Lucas! This dress is a keeper!"

"Man, homecoming can't come soon enough!" I say eagerly.

She laughs, puts a hand to my cheek and leans towards me teasingly, her eyes on my lips, before she moves passed me towards the counter. I can't believe my luck. This girl was driving me crazy. I want to kiss her so bad that I have to literally shove my hands in my pockets to keep from taking her in my arms. She gets the dress, and we hang around until the mall closes, chatting and laughing. We act a lot more like a normal couple now, despite having not kissed yet. When we walk, I automatically pull her close with an arm around her shoulders, and she links her arm around my waist as we wander around.

Eventually, we get into my car and I drive her home, chatting about the upcoming dance. I get out and walk her to the door of her house, stopping on her outside porch. She turns to me. "I had a really good time tonight, Lucas. Most guys are really boring at the mall, but you were a lot of fun!"

I shrug casually, reaching up with a hand a tucking a loose stand of her hair behind her ear. "You know, I had a better time than I expected too. I guess you and I just have good shopping chemistry," I joke.

She laughs, stepping forward. "Or maybe just good chemistry…" She leans up and kisses me, her soft arms wrapping around my neck. It feels amazing to kiss her finally, and I revel in the feel of her lips against mine. As first kisses go, it was pretty damn hot, with her tongue flicking against my lips more then once. She clearly knew what she was doing when it came to kissing. It ends way too quickly for my liking though. "Good night, Luke," she whispers teasingly. God, she was good at driving me mental.

"Good night Beth," I reply, giving her hand a squeeze before I leave her home.


End file.
